This is a very frequent topic in e-mails and the forum, and often the cause for frustration: Optic shops require an optometrist prescription for you to get glasses.

There is a large degree of arbitrary enforcement of this rule.

For one, it depends on the locale you live in. Some areas are more strict than others about prescription requirements. A good idea is to look around and find an optician who is willing to prescribe you lowered prescription per your request.

This is well worth the effort. You may find two optic shops on one street, one of which insists on prescribing you accroding to an autorefractor result, and a Snellen chart in a dark room. If you follow this site, you already know that the resulting prescription will lead to progressive myopia (and naturally, is something you want to avoid).

The next shop may have a practitioner who understands the effect of over-prescriptions, and is willing to reduce your prescription for distance, as well as give you a significant reduction for close-up use.

You can find a number of accounts of this in the forum.

Prescription requirements exist to protect you, the customer (at least in theory).

wiper blades

If you get a prescription that is too weak, and end up in any sort of accident, the prescribing optician could be held accountable. The individual could loose his/her license to practice, which could destroy their livelihood. This threat exists to make sure that you, the consumer, is protected.  

Unfortunately the short formula for prescriptions is according to the principles of the worst case scenario:

You are most likely to get your eye exam in a darkened room, with a single light on an eye chart. You are equally likely to receive increases in correction during this test, until you no longer report a positive change with the next increase.

All this means that you are getting the highest possible prescription. This is practical as it ensures that you will see as clearly as possible in the most adverse conditions – such as driving fast at night, during rain and fog.  

This prescription is a bit like a deep sea diving suit though, when most of your time is spent sitting on the beach. During the day you see far better than at night, you see much better up close than at a distance. Most of your time using your eyes is during the day, looking at computer screens (most likely). Therefore, that high prescription is significantly more than you need, and the net effect is increasing myopia.

Still, optic shops still function by a more than 600 year old single prescription paradigm: One single prescription, for all situations.

This is convenient for all parties. The shop just has to create one result (the strongest one), and you just wear one pair of glasses. You can always see clearly, including if you were to drive fast during a foggy, rainy night. The downside is that your eyes will continue to get worse.

Long story short, the prescription requirement is meant to protect you. Unfortunately, it does so at great cost to your long term vision health.

In many areas you can buy reading glasses (plus lenses), without a prescription. Since these lenses are not used during activities that may endanger you or others, prescription requirements are less likely to exist in your locale.

Knowing the harmful effects on your eyes, you will want to avoid the high prescriptions (in safe conditions).

There are several ways around the highest prescription prescribed by many shops.

One, as mentioned above, is to find a more educated, sympathetic optician.

big-chain-store

 Big Optic Shop Chains:  Not Your Best Bet For A Lowered Prescription

Two, you can order online, with shops that don’t require a prescription. These exist in most areas. Caveat, you want to be careful about ordering multiple, different prescriptions, in one order (or they may require a prescription).

Three, you can visit a behavioral ophthalmologist, who is far more likely to understand the problem, and write you prescriptions for close-up and distance use separately.

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In any case, don’t be upset at a shop requiring a prescription. It is well intentioned.  Since you do have a great many choices both online and off, find the one that best suits your specific needs.

Enjoy!

Alex discussing myopic child